Twitter for Photographers: 3 Essential Tips

Twitter for Photographers: 3 Essential Tips

Awhile back we gave skeptical photographers five reasons to start taking Twitter seriously. If you’re sold and ready to boost your Twitter presence, here are three essential tips for tweeting effectively. For those who have already established a following, use these as a brush-up to make sure you’re making the most of your tweets.

1. Hashtags: Use Them with a Purpose

Outside of the social mockery, hashtags serve a real purpose – to categorize content on social media. Use them as such.

Tweets with hashtags generally get twice the engagement of tweets without, so think about what conversations you want to join and what types of people you want to connect with. Resist the urge to use obscure, spur of the moment tags – #idroppedmycameraandnowimsad does nothing for you or the Twitter community.

#Photography, on the other hand, is a good place to start, as saturated as it may be. You could also add a hashtag to a place or object that people may be browsing. Don’t go overboard, though; anything more than two or three begins to look amateurish.

The difference between a follower and a fan is that a follower views your content while a fan shares it. Some of your followers will be instant fans, but others will be less engaged. The best way to turn followers into fans is by starting a conversation. Use hashtags to launch questions into the Twitterverse. When you get a new follower who seems to be active on Twitter, thank them directly. If they’re a photographer, throw them a compliment on their work. See a tweet you like from a reputable user? Retweet it with a comment and follow them.

Engagement is key. Without it, your content becomes monotonous and isolated. And then you feel like you’re talking to a potato, which you might as well be.

3. Scout for Potential Clients

Think of Twitter as an investment of your time. It’s not just a pipeline for sharing your work; it’s a massive resource for identifying opportunities to expand your business. Notice a business that has weak photography on their website? Use Tip #2 to connect with them. Then you have a pivotal ounce of leverage for a subsequent cold call.

The importing thing to remember with scouting for potential clients on Twitter is that it’s an active process on your end of the screen, but a passive one on theirs. Don’t be too aggressive in tweeting your prospects for work. You don’t want to be rude or spammy, nor do you want to compile a public timeline of rejected pitches. Plant and nurture your relationships on Twitter; harvest them offline through calls, emails and meetings.

Utilizing Twitter with these basic tips will help you create a valuable network of colleagues, clients and fans. How’s your tweeting going? Give us a shout at @DuggalNYC.